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The new system of payments formulated by the Board for Control of Cricket in India for members of the Indian team has three components, and includes performance-linked clauses. The details, as revealed to Cricinfo by Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, add up to a significant increase for a winning team.The basic match fee will be the same for all: Rs 100,000 (US$ 2332) for each one-day international, Rs 200,000 for each Test.There will also be individual results-based incentives for players: For ODIs, both home and away, each member of the playing eleven will receive Rs 300,000 for each match won; reserves will get 50% of that.For Test matches at home, the payment will be Rs 500,000 per win per player and Rs 300,000 each for a draw. Away Tests will fetch each player Rs 600,000 for a win and Rs 400,000 for a draw. Again, reserves will get 50% of these figures in each case.There will also be team bonuses linked to results. For one-day matches, the squad will receive Rs 5,000,000 for each series won in India and Rs 7,500,000 for each series won abroad. Winning a Test series will fetch the squad Rs 15,000,000 (US$ 349,882).There will also be a flat, common retainer fee, Shetty said, to replace the graded system of contracts. However, the board has not yet decided on the quantum of that fee.

Bob Woolmer was a “little depressed” following his team’s exit from the World Cup and he was looking forward to going home, according to an email that may have been his final words before his death in Kingston, Jamaica last March.The email, which was sent to his wife, Gill, was read to jurors at the inquest into Woolmer’s death. “Hi, darling, feeling a little depressed currently as you might imagine,” the message started. “I am not sure which is worse, being knocked out in the semi-final at Edgbaston or now in the first round. Our batting performance was abysmal and my worse fears were realised … I could tell the players were for some reason not able to fire themselves up.”He went on to say that he was glad not to have to travel to Guyana and was looking forward to seeing his family again. “I hope your day was better but I doubt it as you were probably watching … not much more to add I am afraid but I still love you lots.”Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner who was at the heart of the investigation, read the email to jurors. He is among the final witnesses in the inquest which is expected to finish this week.The fifth week of the inquest got off to a bizarre start when a subpoenaed witness failed to turn up. David Wong Ken, a local DJ who claimed to have evidence about Woolmer’s death, failed to appear under instruction from his lawyer. “I take full responsibility for him not being here,” his representative said. “It would be an exercise in futility, and a side-show that should not be allowed.”

New South Wales’ slow bowling stocks have received another boost with Beau Casson, the left-arm wrist spinner, announcing today he will leave Western Australia. Casson was the Warriors’ first-choice ahead of the one-day international Brad Hogg in the Pura Cup last summer, but he has decided to fight for a spot in Sydney alongside Stuart MacGill, Jason Krejza and Nathan Hauritz, who is also chasing greater opportunities.Tony Dodemaide, the Western Australia chief executive, was disappointed to lose Casson, who took 17 wickets at 54.23 in the Pura Cup in 2005-06. “If Beau wants to go to the next level, he won’t do that by bowling in the nets in Sydney,” Dodemaide said. “We pulled out all stops to try to convince him to stay. I think he will struggle to get more opportunities ahead of MacGill and Hauritz than he would for WA where he is the No. 1 choice in first-class cricket.”MacGill is the Blues’ main spinning weapon while Steve O’Keefe and Krejza filled the support roles last summer. Last week Hauritz opted to move south after being attracted by the state’s “spin bowling culture”.”The prospect of having left- and right-arm wrist spinners is exciting,” Trevor Bayliss, the NSW coach, told . “Our spin bowling stocks at that level haven’t been all that deep, but with Beau coming and quite possibly Nathan, it creates some competition.”One of the reasons we went after Beau is the SCG wicket is conducive to wrist-spin bowling. We think Beau has got that potential to go further than just state cricket. He’s the right age.”

Kenya has been waiting for this, but it was only when Samir Inamdar,their chairman, received rapturous applause for his speech that werealised just how much the World Cricket League means to the country.”I think I speak on behalf of many associates that, to many a fullmember – perhaps even a cricketer – the cream of Associate cricketremains a mysterious enigma,” he said at the WCL opening ceremony, atParklands in Nairobi. “No one really knows how good they are, how wellthey will perform in the World Cup. Over the next two weeks we standto learn just how good they are and that alone is a huge step forward.The eyes of the world will be on us today.”Inamdar was speaking at a lavish, marquee ceremony in the district ofParklands on the eve of the first match between Kenya and Bermudatomorrow. Cultural dancers, local to the district, performed adazzling display of hamstring-tweaking manoeuvres to a large audience,made up of the six participating teams, media, administrators andalmost anyone with even the vaguest connection to cricket in Kenya.There was a strong sense from the group of people collected that herethey all were “in it together,” fighting the once spiritless cause oflower-tier cricket. Recognition at last.”Kenya is proud to host this event because, for too long, the countryhas been in the news for precisely the wrong reasons,” Inamdar said.”I’m not prepared to dwell on the past, but what I do say is we havemade enormous progress in the way our cricket is managed. But we arestill not out of the woods and an enormous amount of work remains tobe done. We are in for an exciting time in the next 10-12 days.”It is too early for congratulatory back-slapping – the opening game ofthe tournament is still some 12 hours away. But tonight confirmed thezeal and fervour for cricket in Kenya. Win lose or draw, it is animmensely encouraging sign for the future.

First Division

Marcus Trescothick inspired a far more resilient batting performance from Somerset on the second day against Hampshire at Taunton, the hosts moving to 159 for 1 at stumps to reduce their deficit to 74. Hampshire were dismissed for 359 with John Crawley moving from his overnight 78 to 104, while Michael Lumb made 76. Ben Phillips finally made the breakthrough to dismiss Crawley, who had barely offered a chance, forcing a thick edge low to Trescothick at second slip. Lumb and Nic Pothas then put on 48 before Pothas – who injured his calf earlier in the day – fell to the first ball after lunch. His replacement, Michael Brown, was also injured, forcing Hampshire to call on Tom Burrows, a Second XI wicketkeeper. Somerset, who limped to a hopeless 126 in the first innings, fought resiliently at their second chance with Trescothick and Neil Edwards putting on 83 for the first wicket. Edwards fell to a full-toss from Greg Lamb for an even fifty from 69 balls but Trescothick was still standing on 62 at stumps, which included six fours and a six into the River Tone.Fifties from Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat handed Kent the most unlikely of first innings leads over Nottinghamshire on the second day at Trent Bridge, but the home side raced to 106 for 2 at stumps to regain the lead by 70 runs. After their disastrous top-order capitulation yesterday, in which they were reduced to 5 for 4, Kent found resistance in their lower-order with McLaren cracking a vital 57, sharing in an eighth-wicket stand of 67 with Arafat as the visitors defied Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad. Sidebottom remained predictably accurate – picking up 1 for 11 in eight overs in the morning – but McLaren was strong on the drive, particularly off Broad, while Arafat tucked into Samit Patel in his 70-ball fifty. Sidebottom continued to probe and picked up his fifth wicket when Robbie Joseph edged to slip, but Kent had gained an invaluable 68-run cushion. However, after the early loss of Will Jefferson, Matthew Wood regained the momentum for Nottinghamshire with an 89-ball fifty and the hosts lead by 70 with two days to go.Click here for John Ward’s report from Old Trafford where Andrew Flintoff bagged a pair for Lancashire, before nipping out three quick Durham wickets.

Second Division

Andre Nel blitzed Middlesex’s top-order with 3 for 8 in six deliveries to lift Essex’s spirits on the second day in Chelmsford. Bowling with genuine pace and bounce, he removed Andrew Strauss for 12, Shaun Udal – the nightwatchman – first ball for 0, before condemning Ed Smith to a miserable pair. At stumps, Middlesex led by 114 – a disappointing lead considering the performance of Danny Evans earlier in the day. Evans, the 20-year-old medium-pacer, picked up his maiden five-wicket haul as Essex lost 6 for 27. Only Jason Gallian (56) and Tom Westley, whose grinding 60 spanned nearly three hours, offered much resistance in a stand of 72 before Gallian became Evans’ first victim, caught behind. Westley impressed on the drive but edged the probing Vernon Philander (3 for 45) to slip – and then Evans dominated, taking 4 for 7 in 7.5 overs to pick up 6 for 35. The match, however, remains in the balance.Jonathan Trott hit his first hundred for two years for Warwickshire who gained a slender – but potentially telling – 40-run lead over Derbyshire on the second day at Derby. After losing Ian Westwood early, the big three of Darren Maddy (57), Ian Bell (48) and Trott set about rebuilding Warwickshire’s reply to Derbyshire’s 270. Bell fell in the forties for the third time this season, though he did become the fastest Warwickshire batsmen to reach 5000 first-class runs. Bell’s England colleague Tim Ambrose cricked his neck during a warm-up routine, preventing him batting at No.6, though he did come in later to help Trott to his hundred. Derbyshire’s Tom Lungley took 4 for 8 in 21 balls – James Anyon surviving the hat-trick – to levy the balance, but Warwickshire’s lower-order fell away quickly to leave the match intriguingly poised.

The blush was unmistakable. Chris Gayle, when asked about his “relationship” with St Kitts, couldn’t hide a naughty smile. Gayle had played a first-class match in St Kitts only once before, scoring 78 in two innings, but the questions were obviously pointed references to Natasha Berridge, Gayle’s Kittsian girlfriend. Gayle said that he wasn’t showing any “favouritism” to the ground but his quickfire 83 definitely made the first day of Test cricket at Warner Park a memorable affair for the locals.Think Gayle, and you think spontaneity. The ease with which he carries himself, the lilt with which he jives, the calm shouldering of arms, the sudden burst of power, all appear impromptu. Yet, there’s a calculated streak that adds to the danger and Gayle admits to a certain level of premeditation. He’d decided to bide his time – in the first eight overs, even loose balls were only tapped or flicked; he’d decided to take the “fight” to the “aggressive Sreesanth” – in the eighth over, with clouds hovering over the ground, he punched a four to long-on and upper-cut, in true Sanath Jayasuriya-style, over point; he wanted to take on Harbhajan Singh – “He was playing his first Test of the series and I tried to put the pressure on him as early as possible” – and soon had the commentators running for cover.Rahul Dravid recently compared Gayle to Virender Sehwag, for being able to start with an impact. Both can demoralise, make good balls look ordinary and generally leave the whole place in a total mess. But one area where Gayle falls short is with regard to conversion. While Sehwag manages a hundred every other time he gets a fifty (12 hundreds, 11 fifties), Gayle has missed out on a hundred 24 times after crossing 50. Gayle admits it’s a concern, as does Lara. “It was another excellent knock by Chris,” said Lara, “but I don’t know if I’m more disappointed or he is [at the end].”I think he’s played four out of five very good innings and hasn’t gone on to get a triple-figure score. That’s unfortunate but I suppose when it comes the flood-gates are going to open … But Chris is improving and personally I would like to see him go on to get big scores. That’s the trademark of an opener – you get rid of the new ball, get to 30-40 and then go on to get a big score.”It’s been more than a year since Gayle’s reached a three-figure score – in May last year he amassed a monumental 317 against South Africa. Gayle knows it’s a problem. “I’m very disappointed with not being able to get the big scores. It’s been a while since I have a Test century and I really work hard to achieve it. I’m a strong guy and next innings or next game I can achieve it. You never know. One of the things that’s worked is that I’ve tried to be more consistent with my batting. I try to aggressive at the start of my innings, whenever I’m aggressive I’m in control of the game more.”Gayle and Daren Ganga might sound like a duo specialising in fusion music, but Lara pointed out their effectiveness by pulling out a telling stat. “I don’t know if you guys heard, but Chris and Daren has a partnership of 43, compared to Desmond and Gordon who average 47.” Of course, these two have walked out to open in only 31 innings – compared to the 148 that the legendary Greenidge and Haynes managed – but the start’s been promising.”Myself and Daren talked a lot and tried to utilise the wicket,” said Gayle of their collaboration. “The first hour was very important and we tried not to lose a wicket as much as possible and communicate well between the wickets as well … Daren and I are very close, good friends off the field as well. We really communicate and share a joke with each other while batting out there. He always tells me to look to drop the ball and run. If I have a problem with a bowler, we communicate that as well and he tries to take more strike. And I might do it as well.”Going by today’s evidence, Ganga had slightly more problems – facing 105 balls compared to Gayle’s 127. Yet, one wonders what strike rotation Gayle was talking about. Having got 19 singles, one double and 13 boundaries, he didn’t need to. He was in St Kitts, remember.

The Indian board (BCCI) has decided to “infuse new, young blood” in its team of umpires to improve the standard of umpiring in the country – which has come under the scanner in the current IPL tournament – and has asked state associations to nominate four candidates each, including at least two former first class players, to appear for an examination that will be held in July.”We have decided to revive the examination that, I believe, has not been held for a while. The idea is to infuse new, young blood and improve the standard of umpiring here,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI, secretary, told Cricinfo.”The umpires who have done poorly or have been found below average may not be posted in important matches,” MP Pandove, the BCCI joint secretary, said in a press release. The decision to conduct the examination in Mumbai was among the few taken during a meeting of the BCCI’s umpires committee on Monday.S Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and BCCI’s director of umpires, will redraw the list of 30 “best umpires” to be on the board’s Elite panel, based on their performance last season that was assessed through video analysis during matches. The BCCI will also monitor the performance of its Elite panel over the next season to identity and promote potential candidates for the ICC’s panel, Pandove said.Apart from Venkatraghavan, Shah and Pandove, the BCCI’s umpires committee comprises representatives of the five zones and Stanley Saldhana, the game development manager.India have not been represented on the ICC’s Elite panel of umpires since Venkatraghavan retired in 2004. The standard of Indian umpiring has been tested during the current season of the IPL, with the cricket of a much higher profile than in a regular domestic tournament. The shortcomings were shown up by the incident involving Sourav Ganguly and umpire G A Prathapkumar, in which the umpire referred a catch to the third umpire after Ganguly, given out, had complained.

Kanbis took another step towards retaining their NPCA crown for the fourth year in succession with a six-wicket win over Parkland Rhinos. Second-placed Stray Lions slipped up with a three-wicket loss at home to Aga Khan. Kanbis now top the table with 167 points while Stray Lions are 15 points adrift.The match between Swamibapa and Sir Ali Muslim Club did not take place as Swamibapa boycotted the match as part of their ongoing dispute with the NPCA.Ruaraka A lead the first division on 192 points for 12 matches with Kanbis B second on 153 points with a game in hand. Swamibapa B are third on 145 from 11 with Kongonis fourth on 144 from 12.The second division is headed by Telca with 188 points from 12 games, with Nairobi Nookers second on 161 and Nairobi Institute third on 155.Nairobi Jaffery have already secured the third-division title with wins in all ten matches. They are on 186 points with Simba Union B and Ruaraka B tied in second back on 125 points.NPCA Super Division

Delhi is in danger of losing the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka on February 12 should it not produce requisite clearances from government agencies soon. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed that an email was sent to the DDCA in this regard.”The BCCI has given them time till tomorrow [to respond to the email],” Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. “We can’t wait for a very long time.” He named Kanpur, Ranchi and Hyderabad as possible alternatives if Delhi failed to obtain the clearances in time. Delhi has also been allotted four matches, including a semifinal, in the World T20 beginning in March. Thakur, however, said the prevailing situation didn’t endanger Delhi’s status as a World T20 host. “This has no connection [to the World T20].”DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said he was hopeful of securing the clearances in two days. “Since today is a holiday we will reply to the BCCI tomorrow explaining our position.”There was a similar cloud hanging over the fate of the fourth Test between India and South Africa in December, before the Delhi High Court stepped in to provide interim relief by asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to provide provisional clearance to the DDCA.There have also been reports of the DDCA being in arrears of payments towards expenses made during the South Africa Test. According to , the DDCA owed Embassy Caterers Rs 11.5 lakh, and had also undertaken expenses worth Rs 41 lakh on repair/installation work on seats and printing tickets. Manchanda, though, denied the claims and said payments to vendors had already been made.However, Justice Mukul Mudgal, who was appointed by the Delhi High Court to oversee the conduct of the Delhi Test between India and South Africa, and also the activities of the DDCA in the process of securing permanent clearances for the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, has not signed the bills yet. “I am still scrutinising it,” he told ESPNcricinfo, but refused to go into the specifics.DDCA’s fresh round of troubles come barely a week after Mudgal submitted a scathing report on the association’s lack of transparency and mismanagement to a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court. The report pointed to the absence of records which hampered transparency, and delay in payments to vendors.”For the previous matches, no records were available to indicate how quotations were invited, how the vendors to whom work was allotted were selected, how the competitiveness of the rates was ascertained,” Mudgal noted. “There were no minutes, or record of the tender committee or committees set up for different tasks. There were no agreements with the selected vendors in the past available for perusal.”Many vendors complained that their bills for earlier matches organised during the last 2-3 years were not cleared. This resulted in a large number of vendors not bidding and others quoting higher rates to cover the risk of huge delays in getting payment.”The report had also revealed the DDCA hadn’t filed a balance sheet for 2014-15.

Kangadaran Mathivanan, Sri Lanka Cricket’s secretary, has said that Sri Lanka believe Adam Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball in his left glove during the World Cup final was “unethical” and may take up the matter at the ICC annual general meeting in June.”We are of the opinion that it was unethical for Gilchrist to use a squash ball to give unfair advantage,” Mathivanan told AFP. He said Sri Lanka could call on the ICC’s cricket committee for stringent application of Law 42 on fair and unfair play to ensure only the approved protection equipment was used. He said that SLC would discuss the issue before deciding whether to raise it in London.The MCC who are the guardians of the Laws, said that Gilchrist had not done anything wrong. “Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball was designed to alter his grip on the bat whilst at the crease,” a spokesman said, “something which he was perfectly entitled to do under Law 3.6(c), which specifies only what external protective equipment is permitted for certain players.”The Laws sub-committee said: “The incident could not be classed either as contravening the Law or as breaching the Spirit of the Game.”Gilchrist scored a match-winning 149 against Sri Lanka in the final and later revealed his batting aid. “I had a squash ball in my bottom-hand to help with my grip in training and I decided in this World Cup to use it in a match.”